"The Man in the Brown Suit"

Agatha Christie created several outstanding series detectives - Hercule Poirot, Miss Marple, Tommy & Tuppence, to name the most widely read ones. But she also wrote a great many "stand-alone" mysteries and thrillers, and some of her best books are among them.

I'd have to put "The Man in the Brown Suit" in that category. It's the subject of today's review on the Classic Mysteries podcast, and you can listen to the full review here. One of Christie's earliest books, originally published in 1924, it's a delightful, often funny Golden Age thriller, which centers on a young woman named Anne Beddingfield. Anne's father having recently died, and having left her nearly penniless, Anne is certain she is facing life in some low-paying hard-working position. She wishes for a little excitement in her life.

I don't think I'm providing any spoilers when I assure you that she gets excitement, all right. And then some. First, she witnesses the death of a man who falls onto the tracks of the London underground. She also sees a mysterious man in a brown suit who shows up right after the apparent accident, claiming to be a doctor, and examines the victim's body before disappearing into the street. Police aren't interested. But before you know it, poor Anne finds herself mixed up in a murder case in a London house - a case marked again by the appearance of that mysterious man in the brown suit. And Anne winds up as a passenger on a ship bound for South Africa. Attempts are made on her life. Another mysterious man bursts into her cabin in the middle of the night, nearly dead of a stab wound. What's going on? A great deal, as it turns out, involving murder, robbery, smuggling, even a mysterious super-criminal. Anne will need a little help from a lot of her friends before the mystery is solved.

Agatha Christie was in fine form with this one, and it's great, light reading. As usual, Christie manages to pull a few rabbits out of hats along the way, and there are plenty of surprises and twists in store. Unfortunately, except for a rather pricey hardback, "The Man in the Brown Suit" appears to be out of print at the moment (Christie titles bounce in and out of print with some frequency), but the link above will take you to Amazon's collection of third party booksellers who do seem to have inexpensive copies available.

Once again, I'm offering this vintage Christie to the Vintage Mysteries Reading Challenge at the My Reader's Block blog - and I suggest you check out their site for a lot of excellent reading suggestions.

Comments

[Bev]

I read this one (again) this year as well....only I used it for the other Challenge I'm sponsoring--the Color-Coded Challenge. I think this is one of Christie's better stand-alone books--even though I wasn't as enthusiastic about it this time as I remember being when I first read it. Still, it's a very good story! Thanks for sharing your review for the Vintage Challenge!

[Les Blatt]

Bev, I like this one because it moves so quickly - and is written with a fair amount of wit and good humor. Glad you also do enjoy it!

[Yvette]

I could swear I posted a comment on this yesterday. I must be losing the few marbles I have left. :)

As you may know, Les, this is one of my very favorite Agatha Christie books. I must have read it about a million times over the years. (Slight exageration, but only slight.) I just never get tired of it. I love everything about it. If I'm not feeling well, this is usually the book I reach for. Well, either this or THEY CAME TO BAGHDAD.

Most especially in THE MAN IN THE BROWN SUIT, I love Sir Eustace Pedlar and Colonel Race.

It's funny to think that Christie basically does the same sort of thing she later did in THE MURDER OF ROGER ACKROYD and nobody seemed to notice. :)

[Les Blatt]

Yvette, I did know that "The Man in the Brown Suit" is a favorite of yours - I read your (very fine) review of it on your site several weeks back. I hadn't thought of it in "Ackroyd" terms, but you're right, although I think there are significant differences here. Interesting point!

[MarkB]

Old thread, but.... I just listened to an audio book version of this story. I listened through to the end, so I can't be too critical, but I found it a far lesser work than Christie's series stories. I actually swung back and forth, enjoying some passages, and wincing at others. Christie shares a failing with many writers of the time - especially Hollywood writers - a man and woman meet, and the next time they see each other, one or both are madly in love. Where did that come from?

This happens with Hastings in one of the Poirot stories - Hastings doesn't know the woman's name, but he's ready to punch Poirot over her. It's a cartoon version of romance, and it's jarring when the rest of the story is being played straight.

[Les Blatt]

It's a lesser Christie, to be sure - but, to be fair, it was one of her first, dating back to 1924 - before Miss Marple. It's only the fifth in Mark Campbell's chronological listing (there were three Poirots and a Tommy-and-Tuppence before this).

I think you'll find that instant falling-in-love situation in a lot of books by many different authors of the period. Realistic? Well, I wasn't around so I can't really say. As for poor old Hastings...well, he wasn't the brightest of Christie's creations!